Friday, 9/16

Lets get some football talk going. . . as you know from basketball I am a D1 guys so I am going to stay in my comfort zone, but if others want to comment on D2 and D3, I'd love to hear it.

GAME OF THE NIGHT presented by the Portsmouth Brewery and their Dirty Blonde Ale, it maybe the only blonde that is nice to you all night!
Winnacunnet @ Portsmouth-- Will the real Winnacunnet and Portsmouth please step up!!  These two were both preseason favorite to make the playoffs, but started the year 1-1 with some bad losses early.  With Exeter, BG and North running at full speed there maybe only one spot left in the East/West Bracket.  This game maybe the tie breaker come early November.  Winnacunnet wins.

Nashua South @ Alvirne-- South is licking their wounds after a tough loss to city rival BG last week. Lucky for them they have a struggling Alvirne team coming to town.  South wins.

Londonderry @ Bedford-- Bedford is the real deal and Londonderry is going to struggle to get in the W column this season.  The Londonderry coach needs to pull a rabbit out of his hat soon if he wants to save his job, Londonderry has a habit of focusing only on wins and losses and not on the quality of the coach.  Bedford wins.

Nashua North @ Dover-- Dover with a huge win last week over Portsmouth. . . North is not Portsmouth.  North is going to quietly be one of the top teams in the state this year, UL power rankings dropped them a ranking after dominating Keene.  North wins.

Keene @ Exeter-- Keene is a lot better than their 0-2 record would show.  Those boys will fight and claw for the entire game, but they are running into a very talented Exeter Blue Hawks team.  Exeter wins.

Merrimack @ Central-- UPSET CITY!!!  Here is my upset pick for the night. . . Central will be able to expose the lack of a Tomahawk running game.  Rivera maybe the most talented back in the state and he will put on another show.  Central wins.

Salem @ Pinkerton-- Everyone knows I am a Pinkerton guy, but even if I wasn't I'd pick Pinkerton in this one.  O'Reilly has a sophomore QB that loves to and can fling the ball around. . . I think you will see the running game come to life as well for the academy.  The Academy wins

BG @ Spaulding-- As long as the boys of the Brotherhood can survive the long, painful drive to Spaulding they should be able to remain perfect on the season.  BG wins.

Concord @ Memorial-- This will be a confidence game for one team.  Concord wins.

Saturday, 9/17

Timberlane @ Goffstown-- Timberlane is a tough 1-1 team taking Bedford down to the wire.  Goffstown has shown that enrollment doesn't matter in D1.  Goffstown 18th out of 20 in enrollment, but still riding a 16 game win streak.  Timberlane has been riding Post who is putting up ridiculous numbers. . . unfortunately for the Owls though they are heading to the home of the defending champs. . . Goffstown wins

This is the right time of the year to spark some football talk that will lead us into the basketball discussions in a few months.

Picks:
Winnacunnet over Portsmouth
South over Alvirne- South can score points in bunches and will be too much for the Broncos in this one.

Bedford all over Londonderry- Londonderry has really struggled to get things going the past couple years since the departure of Fairweather and this year sadly seems to be no different. Bedford is clicking on all cylinders and appears to be built for the long grind of the NH football season.

North over Dover- North early and often in this one........North is a solid team that is trending in the right direction.

Exeter over Keene- Long bus ride from Keene to Exeter and then they have to play Exeter. Ball and Co will be too much for the Blackbirds to handle.

Merrimack over Central- This will be a tight one and I believe that Central will try to control the clock by running to keep Grassini off the field but when he is on it he will score as he has done all season. He has a compliment of weapons and it will be too much for Central.

PA over Salem- This isn't your typical PA squad but still has depth at every position evident by their new QB throwing for almost 400 yards in his first ever start. Salem has a solid run game, as always, but I think that the Astros will come out on top in this one.

BG over Spaulding- BG will take care of business in this one and hopefully they will get out healthy so they can prep for a tough road game @Keene next week.

Concord over Memorial- Memorial plays hard but it will not be enough tonight.

Game of the Week-

Timberlane over Goffstown- Both teams run the ball very well and I think that Post will be too much for Goffstown to handle. The winning streak comes to an end tomorrow morning as the Owls will win a tight one.

Winnacunnet @ Portsmouth-- MacDougall and Powers are too much for Portsmouth. Winni wins a close one

Nashua South @ Alvirne-- Holland is legit. South big

Londonderry @ Bedford-- Bedford is really good, Londonderry is, well trying to build to be good. Bedford wins and it could get ugly

Nashua North @ Dover-- North dominates the line of scrimmage and bullies the Green Wave

Keene @ Exeter-- Exeter is good at football

Merrimack @ Central-- .My pick for the most entertaining game of the night. The contrast in styles will be something to watch. Rivera may be the best back in the state Grassini may be the best quarterback in the state. The team that dictates style of play will come out on top. For my money that's the team that controls the line, Central with the upset.

Salem @ Pinkerton-- Big early game in D1 South, hopefully answers a few questions. Is Salem for real? Is the Goujon kid for real? Can Salem and Sibanda run the ball against the big bad Pinkerton defense? I think Pinkerton forces Salem to make big plays through the air and that's the difference. Astros win, closer than the experts think.

BG @ Spaulding-- Sam Raitt can really pitch it for the Cardinals, Nashua, Rochester and every town in between.

Concord @ Memorial-- Concord is just better at football right now

Saturday, 9/17

Timberlane @ Goffstown-- Jacob Post is really really good and Timby has an underrated offensive line to this point in the year, but Goffstown is quickly becoming a program that expects to win and has found a multitude of ways to win games. I don't know how they'll do it, maybe this week it will be a big special teams play but I expect Goffstown to just find a way to survive.